How to Use take a back seat in a Sentence

take a back seat

idiomatic phrase
  • Overall, the health needs of women in Bangladesh take a back seat to those of men.
    Andrew Jacobs, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
  • Adams hopes to be able to take a back seat in the day-to-day programming at the retreat.
    Essence, 11 Jan. 2024
  • Male artists are taking a back seat at the 2024 Grammys.
    Mesfin Fekadu, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Nov. 2023
  • The 1970s also marked the moment that homemade food took a back seat, says Gray.
    Claire Turrell, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 May 2023
  • My pain was in the driver’s seat, and everything else took a back seat.
    Vanessa Etienne, Peoplemag, 23 Aug. 2023
  • And in this race, as with the clipper ship captains, caution might take a back seat to speed.
    Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2024
  • Website and mobile app design skills take a back seat to a new skillset.
    Ron Shevlin, Forbes, 18 July 2022
  • With the city taking a back seat, it has been left to nonprofits like Flatbush Cats to take up the slack.
    Richard Schiffman Erin Schaff, New York Times, 8 June 2023
  • Even among his defenders, free speech took a back seat.
    Russell Jacoby, Harper's Magazine, 16 Feb. 2023
  • In this instance, truth took a back seat to the FBI’s reputation.
    Brett Forrest, Time, 7 June 2023
  • Now, with some of that money clawed back, there is a question about what programs may take a back seat.
    Fatima Hussein and Kevin Freking, BostonGlobe.com, 1 June 2023
  • As with the young L’Avant-Garde, the service can take a back seat to some of the singular sensations emerging from the open kitchen.
    Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 May 2023
  • But that issue has taken a back seat to the separate fight over who can be a party to the lawsuit.
    Travis Loller The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 2 Dec. 2023
  • But none of that necessarily means 2021 will be the year that growth stocks take a back seat to value.
    Akane Otani, WSJ, 31 Dec. 2020
  • If the financial case is grim, any plans to invest in Twitter may have to take a back seat to simply paying the bills.
    Lauren Hirsch, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2022
  • Some experts say this would mean taxpayers were taking a back seat to Wall Street.
    Peter Eavis, New York Times, 27 Nov. 2023
  • Even the red, white and blue of the American flag flying high above the nosebleeds in Arthur Ashe Stadium take a back seat to the light itself.
    Karsten Moran, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2023
  • Here, most of the traditional spices take a back seat to allow the piquancy of ginger to shine in the foreground.
    Ben Mimscooking Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2022
  • For that moment, at least, couldn't Bernstein's love for Felicia be allowed to take a back seat to his love for Mahler?
    Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 23 Nov. 2023
  • Beef ribs, cooked overnight and finished with a pomegranate glaze, take a back seat to the succulent chicken.
    Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 13 Jan. 2023
  • Once the summer ends, the feeling of flowy, carefree clothing has to take a back seat to make room for professional pieces.
    Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 16 Aug. 2023
  • Your ambitions could have to take a back seat to other desires today.
    Tarot Astrologers, chicagotribune.com, 24 Mar. 2022
  • Besides, the 49ers expect to get Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman back, too, and all pass catchers would likely take a back seat to the running backs.
    Phil Thompson, chicagotribune.com, 26 Nov. 2020
  • If employees take the high road and raise their level of performance, any issues might take a back seat or even fade away.
    Expert Panel®, Forbes, 13 May 2022
  • But, in this piece, the interviews take a back seat, with just a few snippets of Jones’ life history thrown in: this essay is on friendship.
    Longreads, 16 May 2024
  • Music may have taken a back seat to fashion for Bing, but it’s always been present in her namesake clothing line.
    Lindy Segal, Glamour, 4 Jan. 2024
  • After Trump was indicted in two federal cases, the New York case took a back seat.
    USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2024
  • For Tesla, ambition might take a back seat to economics in 2022.
    Jacob Carpenter, Fortune, 27 Jan. 2022
  • Your desire for fun must sometimes take a back seat to your regular routines and duties.
    Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive, 24 Nov. 2020
  • Both these defenses will take a back seat to these premier quarterbacks.
    Ian Firstenberg, Chicago Tribune, 2 Dec. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take a back seat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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